Multiple units
 

I remember travelling a lot on these in the sixties ,local ones with two cars (ie Rugeley to Birmingham)and from Snow hill to Cardiff (change at Gloucester?)with I think six cars.I always thought that they were a pleasant mode of travel and wondered if they were in fact commercially successful?I think they were all built my Metro -Vickers?

There's a simple answer to that

Yes


A train using smaller power plants in tandem to move a heavy train is always more cost effective than one huge power plant for them as they use less power once motion is achieved
Plus maintenance of the smaller units is easier and cheaper than of loco's and faster turnarounds possible.

Are there similar units in use today?Living in Thailand I don't get to keep up with the UK much!

I think it's true to say that the vast majority of passenger services in the UK are provided by multiple units these days. So much so in fact that enthusiasts turn out in their droves to enjoy the unusual sight of a loco-hauled train.

Was the Midland Pullman (the blue train) the forerunner of modern high speed multiple units ?

No I believe it was power cars each end like the HST.

An important benefit of multiple units is that the tractive effort is spread over several sets of wheels which allows better acceleration without wheelslip.

I actually loved to travel up front of a 60's DMU as the views were superb. You could see every loco coming and easily get the number of the steam engine. It was a great way to travel. I used to do it often from Lincoln to Newark Northgate, or Grantham for a shed bash, or to just spot on the ECML. Wonderful memories and mixed well with the last days of steam and early diesels. (I know the funny squared diesel thingies!) lol.
Had fun all the same.
Good stuff
Cheers
Phil

I joined the railway in 1979, excuse the pun here, trained as a guard and worked my first train being a dmu on 12th March 1980 from King's Lynn to Cambridge bearing NSE Livery. I didn't like them too much, yet thinking back, they were comfy seating wise.

Yesterday when driving near Ely, I saw 3 enthusiasts at a crossing and so enquired if a 'Special' was due through, but they had just photographed a couple of units. Me? I would rather photograph class 66 loco's, but each to our own.

My memory of them was trips to and from base at Scampton on weekend pass.

At each country station stop the Beclawat sliding vents would rattle deafeningly from the vibration of the idling engines. By the end of the journey I'd have a raging headache.

Yes I totally agree with you on that. Give me a loco any day.

I suppose it's possible that they're trying to get good photos of the 365s on the Fen Line before they're superceeded by the class 377/5s which will be cascaded across from the Thameslink side (once the class 700s come into service there).

It's not due to happen for quite a while yet though, and even when it does there will still be 365s going to Peterborough.

Best wishes, BW

Agree with you there Phil
We used to travel from Doncaster to Chesterfield quite a bit and the front seat was one we'd fight for
Although the worse ones were those with a first class compartment behind the driver which was ALWAYS empty

We would still use the first class end too, as you say they were nearly always empty! If the inspector came round we would just move till he had gone back or just got a ticking off. Worth it for sure.
Cheers
Phil

Travelling from Leicester past Hathern I was in the front coach. In the first seat right next to the window sat a city type reading a paper. He just glanced up as the Thames Clyde Express was bearing down on him. I thought he'd have a heart attack.

Have to say it has caught me unawares sometimes! Especially when just daydreaming whilst looking out the window! Then Wham in a couple of seconds its all over and I am wide awake again!! LOL :D

I have always thought that BR and its successors missed a trick by blocking the forward view on the later multiple units. I am sure that there can be no good reason for making the customers sit facing a blank wall. I know that in the early days some drivers complained about their loss of privacy but think of the PR value of being able to see where you are going. On the Paignton - Kingswear railway the observation car is always very popular and attracts a £1 premium so we know that the market is there, but since when have the railways been interested in "the market"?

Trouble is you get idiots messing around, plus the knowitalls looking for a chance to shop the driver.

My abiding memory of DMUs in the late 50s early 60s on spotting trips is the rattling windows but as Phil points out if you were in the front seats you could see the the smoke box door number plate of approaching locos, a big improvement on looking out of the carriage window specially if the steam loco in charge of your train had a self cleaning chimney, and even if it hadn't you usually got bits of ash in your eyes. A lot of the DMUs I traveled on had Gardener 150 engines, great for Scamell Highwayman tractor units that never had to go over 35mph but not much good for anything else. But above all else they were a good old reliable plodding diesel engine.

I agree that having a view out the front of the train was a treat that passengers had not enjoyed before nor are likely to enjoy in the foreseeable future. Like other contributors to this thread I made many journeys on DMUs from the end of the 1960s right up to about 2000. My memories aren't entirely positive though because I found them quite uncomfortable for two reasons: the underfloor engine caused a great deal of vibration and it seemed quite common to get an awful stench of diesel fumes in the carriage.

The real possibility of someone jumping in front of the train and its likely effect on passengers must be considered when providing a forward view.
Some trains in mainland Europe have a forward view and I believe that the driver can operate a device which instantly blocks this off should the need arise. Having said that I find it hard to imagine that operating it would be the first thing on their mind when faced with that kind of situation.

You've hit the nail on the head here John. The railway isn't going to let anyone witness a fatality because it would be open to a claim. This is also why it's so difficult to persuade a TOC to let you have a cabride nowadays. They're just not prepared to take the risk.

BW